01/01/2011

The day before I headed to The Boondocks For Christmas With The Family, the Landlord handed me the new Walter Mosley, which, for some baffling reason, I didn't know existed! The Landlord and I swap books all the time, one of the reasons he's a cool guy.

So I was all yay, a plane book probably better than the one I was planning to bring along! What I did not in any way expect was that I would read all but 40 pages on the direct flight out. THIS BOOK IS THAT GOOD, despite the eyebrow-raising hitch in his descriptions of Los Angeles, which slips into cliche vague at points, and the occasional inaccurate descriptions of bus routes. I could not put it down. It is possibly one of the best ones he's ever done, and yes I know that's a Big Statement, but as I've read all he's done except for the porn one, I feel confident saying so.

Finished it during a lull on Christmas night (while secretly pining for the French Quarter, so close yet so painfully far away because they'd notice if I'd grabbed the keys and made a break for it). The next day, upon delivering Me to the airport, Mom took it from me with a Ooo I Love Walter. Mom claimed the Landlord's book for herself, even though I was all umm this isn't my book, actually.* (Three days later, moments after finishing the book, Mom called to talk about it and we had the most amazing chat!)

Finishing Mosley in basically one sitting caused a problem, as I had packed lightly and only had the one book for the journey. As we three sat there in the holding area** watching it load up with what Dad called "more screaming children than I have ever seen on one plane," I realized my backup plan of sleeping on the flight back home was not going to work.*** I needed to find something - anything - to read.

So I took Dad beautiful holiday card**** filled with Merry Christmas Money to the airport bookstore down the hall. Hudson something? The official bookstore of airports that are usually filled with crap works not to my taste? That place.

And lo! Amidst all those crap not to my taste books there was a new Stephen King collection that I was also previously unaware of existing! There were two hardcovers left and I gleefully snagged one. Thank you, o Flying Spaghetti Monster, for the glory that is Stephen King (even if the cover of this one is stupid). I read half of the book on that flight and finished it the next day (bringing my 2010 book total up to 107 of fiction and fact, not that you care, but I track these things. Counting the book that will be finished by week's end, tally will be 108).

I love short stories, I really love extended short stories, and I particularly adore King's work in the spaces between short story and novel because he's supremely good at it.

Meanwhile, during this week of off-the-grid I "redecorated" part of the front yard by digging it up (again) and transplanting my aloe, deer grass and most of a pot of purple succulent thingies from their nursery to the strip where the fire sticks had run riot along with the crab grass. I hope that down the road this will look lovely and will allow me to easily keep on top of rooting out the crab grass in this section:

I'd like to transplant some of my silver falls or my low-growing succulents in pots on the porch to this space as ground cover down the road, but the crab grass in this strip is so stubborn I don't see any option outside of bare dirt so I can get at the crabbies when they poke up. I have been at War with the crab grass in this strip for five years now. I don't understand why I've been able to eradicate it everywhere but this strip. (Note to self: consult with Shane.)

Gotta say, the weeks of rain previous almost crushed my spirit, but all that water made the weeding and replanting much easier by breaking up the mostly-clay dirt we've got in the yard. Thank you, wettest December since 1889!

I did not take a Before comparison shot in any of the front yard because that would expose my Shame. The first photo here gives a hint of how bad it was. The firesticks in the third photo look innocent, but in the space of nine months those fucking things went Wilding! It seemed every week they were either a foot taller or wider. They turned from Tasteful to Tacky.

Due to the day job and other demands elsewhere this year, my ability to weed and do regular upkeep was severely compromised, and the structure of the firesticks made weeding difficult anyway. Members of the family of Gardener of Eden, whose property is on the right of the picture above, were not the only ones to express Relief once I started in this week. I (again) heard from many several neighbors daily who thought I had given up and were concerned the yard would return to what it looked like before I moved in. Hee!

Yard work also included weeding everywhere else; giggling every time I came across a worm as that meant the worm colonies I tried to establish five years ago have firmly taken root, unlike those hussy ladybugs who just flew away every single time; culling the Birds of Paradise; reducing and relocating some of the aloe; murdering the bougainvillea that keeps trying to return in one spot; pulling up the weed grasses I don't know the name of; and pruning the Fried Egg Poppies in prep for next year's bloom. I must say I'm concerned about next year because the pruning happened much later than it should have because I was waiting for the solid week of cold needed first, but the weather didn't cooperate. We'll see what happens in the spring.

Throughout all this, I got to thinking that while it is important to be water-wise with SoCal gardening, I very much miss my brown-eyed Susans. I gave them up for reasons of environment (they need tons of water, which is wasteful) and racoons/possums (they dig up the tasty root tubers, killing the plant and pissing me off). I'm going to research the possibility of bringing back a small clump of BES next year somehow. There's got to be a way that won't waste water or feed the ravenous racoons/possums.

Anywho, "redecorating" the yard left me with with a huge pile of firesticks. After neighbors and a few friends pounced on them I was still left with a huge amount to get rid of:

Because I didn't want to bin them (and, frankly, couldn't as both of the green waste bins were filled with detritus from Elsewhere in the yard) I turned to an open call to strangers via a Twit. Those people came by in the rain the next day and took about 2/3 of the above. Yay! To each visitor I responsibly provided warnings about the poisonous sap, the tendency of these things to turn into Yard Thugs and the center trunk - if allowed to get that big - becoming as thick & tough as an adolescent tree. (I didn't get rid of all my firesticks. I do like them a lot and there's still plenty in the ground. I've just got to figure out how to use them properly.)

The strangest thing uncovered during the marathon weeding was this:

That's a purple succulent in toddler phase, hidden under fans of weed grasses, firesticks and arenegade Bird of Paradise offshoot. It's light green because it has been mostly shaded, and I think its petals are thin for the same reason. Or maybe it's starving what with the weeds and so forth. I'll ask Shane. Since all of the purples are either on the other side of the yard or in pots, I have no idea how it got all the way over here alone. Mystery! For now I'm going to leave it, but eventually it will have to be relocated.

When I wasn't writing, gardening, sleeping attending local Kwanzaa***** events, hanging out with various combinations of friends for daily food/drink, sleeping, fiddling with this, greatly enjoying these righteous rants, hitting up movies with others or alone, and also sleeping, I was lounging on the couch with help from The Best Slightly Annoying Lap Desk Ever:

I have no idea why indoor photos from the replacement CrackBerry are tinged blue. I also have no idea why Cuddle Kitty does this every time I settle in for a round of reading.

* She was all I don't have anything to read and I am your Mother. I can go to EsoWon to get a replacement copy for the Landlord who, being a good guy, will understand.

** Their flight left just over an hour after mine. Gotta say, Dad did not do a good job of hiding his increasing amusement over the composition of my plane under a mask of sympathy.

*** Sure enough, once aloft when one of the kids set to screaming that triggered the rest of them all throughout the plane. It was hell. Because the flight back is always longer than the flight out due to battling the jet stream, it was a Long Hell. Even though a couple of the howling kids were cuties, I was torn between sympathy for some of them and wanting them all to be down in the cargo hold.

**** In the immediate family he's the one who gets the Celebratory Event cards for Moi & the Sibling, and he nails it every time. Dad puts a lot of effort into finding just the right card for each of us, and my understanding is Mom signs it but is not consulted - which means in my family it is The Man's Job to find the perfect heartfelt expression of sentiment and love for the daughters. I have cards going back years. Some of them I carry around in my DayRunner to provide a burst of pick-me-up when needed.

***** My holiday season doesn't end until Jan. 1 (though the Holiday Eating tends to continue into the following week).

11/22/2010

Chocolate is about an autistic woman who beats down as many people as necessary in order to save her Mom...without benefit of wirework or CGI.

I have an all-region dvd player for a reason.

Chocolate came up late this weekend via a buddy who discovered that Ong Bak 3 is a reality (I thought he was a monk now but maybe he went on Monk Leave or something to do this???), which said buddy shared with me in an attempt to make me feel better about Cuddle Kitty's near demise on Friday (much panic, tears, more panic and depleting of the replacement car fund to keep him alive) which of course lead to a discussion of both Chocolate and The Legend of Suriyothai (which features a different kind of badass warrior woman, with bonus ! Combat Elephants ! I loooove that movie), and also arguing over Kenny Rogers lyrics (which, if you were there to witness the evolution of this conversation, the segue to Rogers makes Total Sense).

His plan to distract me worked! And it turns out many clips from Chocolate are on YouTube. Here's the closing battle scene:

05/29/2010

Six of the 32 buds so far spotted this season are in bloom. Here are two of them up front, one visible behind stems off on the left: Update! Swapped out for better photos freshly snapped Sunday morning. The open bloom count is now 10!:

Cat was Totally Unhappy taking that picture.

Four buds are visible in this shot. Imagine what it will look like if all of them pop at once! I can't wait.

Once I get hold of the good camera, or successfully recharge the second-best camera, I shall assault you with even more pictures that are of course less about pictures of flowers and more about Bragging.

Background on this particular element of my garden goes back to 2007. When these things went in, even Shane thought nothing much would come of them. But I am my Mother's child. Dirt? I fuckin OWN you.

02/25/2010

BGF: I got a serger! The type I wanted, in the price range it should be! Six months of searching, losing out and dodging a couple of attempted scams! A killer drive to the SGV during rush hour to the nice Filipino couple who have had it in storage since 1983! Given the "as far as I can tell, this thing is brand new" bill o health from the technician! ! I GOT A SERGER OF STEEL !

CUDDLE KITTY: I got a box! This is the BEST box I've EVER seen! Stop trying to move my box from the middle of the living room! I GOT A BOX!

12/25/2009

And an awesome story about how NORAD began its Santa-tracking service back in 1955!

And some decorations! (shot's bad, but the second one is a Martha Stewart black Santa. Rock.)

And most of the Christmas playlist for today's feast! (I couldn't get it all in on one screencap.) It was easier to replace the standard Mormon Tabernacle Choir playlist than I thought. All I had to do was, well, think about it.

And Cuddle Kitty caught in the act of eating tinsel!

I was Victorious over my first ham. At least I think I was. We'll see what the guests say. More on that, later.

WHEREAS it's kinda dumb to leave certain decisions to the whims of a fluffy cat, which is obvious now that we think about it;***

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The Matrix is PERMANENTLY STRICKEN from the list of acceptable dvd background during sewing sessions; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED that The Matrix joins King Kong, Old Boy, Das Boot, and the entire oeuvre of Michael Bay as Forbidden for sewing sessions.

RESOLVED this day of Saturday, August 29, 2009 by BGF Central, HNIC.

*** I let Cuddle Kitty pick the dvd background for that evening's sewing session by putting both dvds on the floor and going with the one he sat upon. He had to choose between The Matrix or Stalag-17. He sniffed at both before sitting on The Matrix. I only got through cutting 20 and assembling four more stage two hexes during the film, which is PATHETIC. Once I realized what had happened, I threw in one of my Edward R. Murrow dvds and crunched down until I caught up to where I needed to be that day in order to make deadline. Fucking cat.

I *love* textured cloths. Textures make me happy, prints get on my nerves. The picture above does not do the two textured cloths justice at all, so here are sucky close-ups that also don't give them justice to give you an idea:

This will be turned into a quilted wrap skirt to be among items auctioned in support of the Interfictions 2 anthology. Source material is the story "Berry Moon" by Camilla Bruce.

Step 1 for this project requires cutting 400 1-inch hexagons, then assembling them into flowers. Yeah, that's about as exciting as it sounds. But! Once assembled they'll look almost, but not quite, like this:

That's an adaptation of a quilt block I invented two years ago for another project. I happen rather to like it - so much so that I keep coming up with new versions of it - and I think it's a perfect fit for what I have in mind for this project.

Photos always lag when I'm working on something. I'm actually well into the cutting stage right now.

03/06/2009

Okay, it's not, really. There's no such thing as a Matt Feazell special edition Blackberry. But that's what came out of my mouth yesterday when, while doing monitor duty for the office State Supremes viewing party, I was asked about the awesomeness of my home screen. He seemed the sort who would be more impressed by hearing it's a special edition, limited run than hearing it took me over five hours over the course of two days to figure out how to layer and rasterize this thing properly, and then get it onto The Device.

The part I liked is that he believed me! It's like the man said, 70% is how you sound...

In addition to a purple background and the Matt Feazell portrait, it has an Eddie Izzard ringtone. That only took about 1.5 hours to figure out how to load. My next obsessive task is to figure out how to change the color and style of the home screen master font, which I think should be Lovecraft's handwriting in artery-blood red. Of *course* it's possible. It's just gonna take a while to figure out, is all.

Anywho, it's that time again. Rather than vanish for a bit with a blank post sitting up top, how about this shot from last spring, the best picture I have taken so far of my cat?